To start out the new year of 2013, we posted one of our favorite stories of all time that morning of January 1: Simi Valley, a woman who had legally changed her name to match that Southern California town, was now not only out of the Church of Scientology, but she had decided also to shake off “independent Scientology” and the ideas of L. Ron Hubbard.
Oh, I'm so very sad to hear this news. I spent a lovely long weekend with Simi at a mutual friend's house when she visited the UK roughly eight years ago, and we stayed in close touch for several years afterwards.
She loved art, she loved animals, but most of all she loved gardens. LOVED flowers. And she hated being cold! We tried to get her out of her giant poofy quilted coat but she was having none of it. I swear she even slept in that thing!
Bill Withers' “Ain’t No Sunshine" was a favourite song of hers so she was delighted when she found an old live legacy recording of his which she shared with me in 2017. In fact she resent it again every year when it popped back up in her Facebook Memories - that's how much she loved this song :D
One of Simi's great pleasures was visiting Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago and she was there when a new tiny baby Grevy zebra was born. She fell in love with that little baby girl and, since the name wasn't announced until some time after her birth, she named her Lollipop. Even after the baby was given the name Halla, Simi insisted on calling her Lolli and would visit regularly to take photos as she grew. I have posted a few of Simi's lovely photos and sweet remarks about Lolli over at the Bunker.
Lastly, Simi believed profoundly in the right to love and be whoever you want to be, and that NOBODY has the right to force their own opinions on anyone else. And with that sentiment I wholeheartedly agree.
It's impossible to comprehend the impact Debbie Cook's email had on Scientologists. As we see here with Simi, Debbie's words told her she wasn't alone, and they gave her the strength to look. I'm marvelling at the strength it took Debbie herself to hit Send on an email that would change so many lives forever, not least her own.
Debbie's email cracked the facade for so many. What made it so unique was Debbie's standing among public, staff, and SO alike. And the fact that she blasted it out to so many public members. Definitely a bombshell moment in the deconstruction of scientology.
So very sorry to hear of Simi's passing. Although we didn't interact that directly in the Bunker, I always enjoyed her comments and insights. Her inimitable spirit always shone through. May that spirit be at rest now.
Oh, I'm so very sad to hear this news. I spent a lovely long weekend with Simi at a mutual friend's house when she visited the UK roughly eight years ago, and we stayed in close touch for several years afterwards.
She loved art, she loved animals, but most of all she loved gardens. LOVED flowers. And she hated being cold! We tried to get her out of her giant poofy quilted coat but she was having none of it. I swear she even slept in that thing!
Bill Withers' “Ain’t No Sunshine" was a favourite song of hers so she was delighted when she found an old live legacy recording of his which she shared with me in 2017. In fact she resent it again every year when it popped back up in her Facebook Memories - that's how much she loved this song :D
One of Simi's great pleasures was visiting Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago and she was there when a new tiny baby Grevy zebra was born. She fell in love with that little baby girl and, since the name wasn't announced until some time after her birth, she named her Lollipop. Even after the baby was given the name Halla, Simi insisted on calling her Lolli and would visit regularly to take photos as she grew. I have posted a few of Simi's lovely photos and sweet remarks about Lolli over at the Bunker.
Lastly, Simi believed profoundly in the right to love and be whoever you want to be, and that NOBODY has the right to force their own opinions on anyone else. And with that sentiment I wholeheartedly agree.
You will be sorely missed, Ms. Valley.
I'll let Bill Withers sing her out :)
https://youtu.be/y3_Ym672_lU
This is a beaten write-up. It made me tear up. Fly high, sweet Similä. 'Ain't no sunshine' is a beautiful song. X
It's impossible to comprehend the impact Debbie Cook's email had on Scientologists. As we see here with Simi, Debbie's words told her she wasn't alone, and they gave her the strength to look. I'm marvelling at the strength it took Debbie herself to hit Send on an email that would change so many lives forever, not least her own.
Debbie's email cracked the facade for so many. What made it so unique was Debbie's standing among public, staff, and SO alike. And the fact that she blasted it out to so many public members. Definitely a bombshell moment in the deconstruction of scientology.
“Every time I would try to read online, I would get so physically ill that I couldn’t go through with it…"
I think Hubbard's greatest success was in making his followers phobic about looking outside the bubble.
My heart sank when I came to the sad news.
I'll get back to the rest of the article later.
"'On January 1, 2012 I was off the Miscavige Kool-aid. But now, a year later, I’m off the Hubbard Kool-aid,' Simi told us."
Hell, yes you were lady.
That is truly sad news. Simi was a hoot and her journey out of the $cienoverse inspired others to do the same. I can't think of a better epitaph.
This is incredibly sad news. I wish Simi's family peace and healing. She will be missed.
So very sorry to hear of Simi's passing. Although we didn't interact that directly in the Bunker, I always enjoyed her comments and insights. Her inimitable spirit always shone through. May that spirit be at rest now.
I knew her from her time in LA. What did he die of? RIP.
Sorry to hear of her passing. I knew her from her time in LA. What did she die of? RIP, Simi.